Schwencke won the “Iron Chef” competition with his pork sandwich, beating out the pork balls served by CBQ Eatery chef Chuck Stanley. Both chefs were competing to see which of their pork dishes would be judged the best as part of the fourth annual Taste, which drew more than 600 attendees to the Schertz Civic Center.

The first 200 people through the door were the only Taste attendees allowed to sample the Iron Chef Throw Down food and vote on which of the two chefs' dishes they preferred. Maggie Titterington, Schertz chamber president, said Schwencke won in a close contest, decided by a mere six votes.

Schwencke said he and his cooking staff enjoyed competing against Stanley and the CBQ Eatery crew. “It felt amazing,” Schwencke said. “We put a lot of hard work in. It feels good to have Houlihan's more than just be a bar, to showcase good food.

“They (CBQ Eatery) are amazing. We've known them for a while. They are a lot of fun,” he added.

All Taste attendees were allowed to pick the best food items in three additional “throw downs.” The culinary clubs from Clemens and Steele high schools went head-to-head in a quesadilla and salsa competition, with Clemens coming out on top. In the battle for the best soup, the clam chowder from Abel's Diner in Schertz beat Schertz H-E-B's chicken tortilla.

H-E-B also competed against Simply Charming Cakes of Schertz for the best cake, with Simply Charming's Milky Way cake the favorite over H-E-B's tres leches cake.

In addition to winning its soup throw down with H-E-B, Abel's Diner won the People's Choice Award for the second year in a row.

Abel and Armida Gomez, owners of Abel's Diner, said the clam chowder has been a favorite among customers since their eatery opened 22 years ago.

“People come every day (to the diner) and expect freshness,” Armida Gomez said. “Our goal is to be the people's choice every day.”

Most of the food and beverage items sampled by attendees got rave reviews.

Joan Howson said the carrot cake from Simply Charming Cakes was tasty. “That was delicious,” she said.

Laura Neuburger loved the quesadillas and salsa made by Steele's culinary club. “It had really good flavor,” Neuburger said. “I think the balance of spices was just right. I could actually taste the flavor of beef in the quesadillas. It had the crunch I liked, and the salsa was really good.”

The taste of Mama Garcia's top shelf margarita won attendee John Baggett over. “I will definitely go there (Mama Garcia's) and buy (a margarita) later,” he said.

Alicia Jaidar said she liked Cielito Station's margarita because of its chili powder flavor. “They are light and refreshing,” she said.

Titterington said moving the Taste from its usual July date to March was a “big plus” in getting people and vendors to come out to the event.

People were ready to get in just before the doors opened at 5 p.m., Titterington said. “They were lined up all around the civic center toward the baseball fields (in the back),” she said. “It just worked much better.”